Short Polish<->English translations

It's "A niech to szlag trafi" or "Niech to szlag". It comes in several versions. It is Polish and more polite version of "For fu**s sakes". It literally means "Let it get hit by a huge blow". Oddly enough many Poles spell the first word "SzlaK" wich is incorrect. I always correct them.

And it is spelt correctly. Pronouncing K in 'szlag' in the phrase "A niech to szlag trafi" would sound comical irrespectively of the fact that 'szlag' comes from the German language.

The general rule for the pronounciation of voiced consonants in Polish is that they become voiceless if followed by a voiceless consonant or if the are followed by nothing at the end of a word (a phenomenon called 'ubezdźwięcznienie'). There are, however, exceptions to this general rule and most notably in the małopolski and wielkopolski dialects.

Good grief! You're right. It seems I confounded the verb "spell" with the verb "pronounce". One reason is that English is not my first language after all, the other one is that I would have never thought someone could ever write "szlak mnie trafi" since 'szlag' and 'szlak' are so different in meaning!

@Ziemowit, the German corresponding expression would likely be "Schlag soll mich treffen!":-))

Sometimes, a Polish idiom or saying may have almost a direct translation into another language, but not into user-friendly or common English parlance aka "Jaki pan, taki sam." = Wie's der Herr, so's Gescherr.

Yes, exactly! And of course, what's so embarrassing about such bloopers is that NO POLE would actually say them, except possibly in jest:-)

Sort of like that old joke from the '60's, translating the German into English "Aus den Augen, aus dem Sinn" as "Invisible idiot" rather than "Out of sight out of mind", or from English into Russian, "The spirit was willing but the flesh was weak" as "The vodka was good, but the meat was bad." etc.....

With the help of Google Translate and my Polish niece's limited English skills we have been trying to find a one- or two-word English translation for "gwiaździsty" as used in the following sentences from 1930s Polish newspapers: